


ink and coffee

by fleursowl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Smut, Some angst here and there, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, coffee shop AU, if ya'll are lucky, like a lot, like a sprinkling, lots of fluff, okay maybe quite a bit, some smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-22
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:02:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26601850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleursowl/pseuds/fleursowl
Summary: sirius moves to a small town to escape city life, and with that gets a new start. he gets a job at the marauders cafe to make ends meet, and there he meets art teacher and professional tattooist remus lupin. the two hit it off almost immediately, but will sirius' past and remus' present get in the way?also all the chapter titles are from folklore songs bc I'm obsessed and you can't stop me
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, Mary Macdonald/Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	1. time, mystical time

_**Sirius**_  
Sirius didn’t like change.   
Since escaping his family over five years ago, he’d lived in the same city, in the same flat, with the same person for as long as he cared to remember. But since James and Lily had started taking the next steps in their relationship and becoming more serious, it had become clear to Sirius that he needed to move out and find a new flat, as Peter had done half a year prior. At first, he was upset, but after a few late-night chats at Peter’s and copious tubs of icecream, he eventually came to terms with it.  
Plus, it would be good for him to be on his own for a while, so he could start finding himself and all that sentimental bullshit James was always spouting on about. Peter had also added that it might give Sirius the chance to finally date someone, to which Sirius had scowled and tossed an empty ice cream tub at him for his troubles.

It wasn’t that he was opposed to the idea of dating, it was just that no one interested him as much as his friends did. People only ever seemed to like him because of his family’s name and then, after he’d been disinherited, his looks- a time where he was far too emotionally fragile to date, anyway. He was ready now, but unwilling. It would take someone really special to bring him out of his slump, and he wasn’t prepared to take risks. He’d taken far too many of those already. 

_One month later_

_**Remus**_  
Remus Lupin strode into The Marauders cafe on the corner, collapsing onto a chair and shrugging his denim jacket off, letting his head fall into his scarred hands.   
“Alright, Re?” came Marlene’s voice, dropping in the seat next to him and rubbing his shoulder.   
“Yeah, just some difficult customers at work today. Some of them piss me off so much, I swear-” Remus’ rant was cut off by Marlene leaning around him and yelling over her shoulder.   
“Oi, new boy! Sirius! Can I get a black coffee over here?” she called, and Remus heard grumblings in the corner of the shop, but still didn’t open his eyes.   
“Thanks, Marls. Got a new worker?” he asked, slowly opening his eyes and accepting his fate- despite his most hopeful wishes, he had not transported back to his bed.   
“Yeah, he’s just moved here from the city. A bit useless, dunno if he’d ever made coffee himself a day in his life before applying here, but he’s funny and easy to get along with. And your type.” she added, nudging Remus’ calf with her knee.

Remus’ head whipped round to behind the counter and standing there was probably the most gorgeous man he’d ever seen. Dark hair was pulled into a short ponytail with tendrils curling around his face and framing his sharp cheekbones, above which were stormy grey eyes. He reached up to pull a pencil out of his ponytail, a confused frown on his face, and his arms- _oh, his arms_. Dark black tendrils crawled up his arms, ending in intricate patterns and dotted with random symbols that must mean something to Sirius, took Remus’ breath away. His feet moved without permission from his head and before he knew it he was behind the counter, his hand moving of its own accord to reach out and grip Sirius’ arm, turning it over for his gaze.

  
“Fuck, these are _gorgeous_. You’re a bloody work of art, mate.” Remus said in a hushed tone, to which the startled boy flushed at, nearly dropping the cup in surprise at Remus’ boldness. He wasn’t the only one surprised- Remus had already taken a few steps back, dropping Sirius’ arm quickly.  
“Sorry, I don’t usually just go up to strangers and touch them, just- fuck, who did these? I’m so jealous.”  
Sirius let out a breathy laugh, his cheeks still stained pink.   
“My best mate’s girlfriend Lily did, she’s a bloody genius. Works at a place in Camden.” Sirius explained, giving Remus a quick once over and then settling against the counter with a smug smile on his lips.  
“Sirius! Coffee!” Marlene snapped, and Sirius turned away with a laugh to resume his battle with the coffee machine as Remus floundered.  
“You mean Lily Evans? She’s my best friend, we went to secondary together,” he said, blinking in surprise. _Huh. Small world._

  
Sirius turned around with a blinding grin, passing Remus his cup of coffee, which he readily accepted.   
“Well. It seems like the fates aligned for us to see each other, so why challenge them? Before I see you again, I’d like to know your name though.” Sirius said with a smirk as he leaned on his elbows resting on the countertop, however, the snort of laughter he let out at the end ruined his smooth facade.   
Remus let out a breathy laugh, shaking his head in amusement.

  
“Remus. Remus Lupin.” he introduced himself, extending his hand for Sirius to take.   
Sirius gripped his hand tightly with his own one, and Remus glanced down to look at the ink running along his fingers clad with chunky rings.   
“Sirius Potter. I’m new to the area, had to get away from city life for a bit. I’ve got a flat on Charing Cross Road, do you know it?” he asked, and Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise. Although his accent wasn’t exactly posh it was refined, and his delicate, elegant features had Remus thinking he was maybe upper-class, but finding out that he was slumming it on Charing Cross Road changed his mind. 

  
Sirius laughed at Remus’ confused expression, shaking his head and turning away for a moment to take another customer’s order.   
“I know I know, I don’t look Charing Cross material, do I?” he said, grinning up at Remus while he busied himself with refilling the milk jug.  
Remus’ heart missed a beat at the way Sirius looked up at him through his eyelashes, and he forgot to respond for a few seconds.  
“No, I- uh, yeah. It’s not too bad, you’ll get used to it. My apartment’s on Barnes Street, you heard of it?” Remus stuttered, jumping as Dorcas came up behind him and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, dragging him down to her height. 

  
“Remus is having a party this Saturday, aren’t you Re?” Dorcas grinned, and Remus watched in curiosity as something in Sirius’ eyes flickered for just a moment, but before he could tell what it was Sirius was turning away to hand the latte to the previous customer. 

  
“That sounds lovely, but I don’t really do parties, sorry,” Sirius said with a stiff smile, his voice tinged with regret.   
“Oh, it’s not a _party_ party, more just like a gathering of friends. To celebrate.” Remus said hurriedly. He really wanted to see Sirius again, out of Marlene and Dorcas’ coffee shop. Sirius let out a small relieved breath, his smile returning more sincerely this time. 

  
“That sounds cool then. What time should I come over?” he asked, glancing behind Remus at the queue of irritated customers and then to the side where his hassled coworker Alice was trying to make six orders at once.   
“I’ll see you at six? Here’s my number if you need directions there. I’ll let you get back to coffee making now.” Remus grinned, passing Sirius his card and walking back to his table to pick up his jacket. 

As he opened the door to leave, he glanced back at Sirius momentarily, and his heart stuttered a little when he saw that Sirius was already watching him with a small smile on his face as his hands battled with the coffee machine. He laughed softly and gave a small wave, walking out of The Marauders and hearing the door shut behind him.

Maybe the coming winter wouldn’t be so cold, after all. 


	2. shining just for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus has a party. Sirius arrives, and so does someone unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! just wanted to say that in this chapter there is a brief mention of Sirius having a panic attack- it's described (not in detail) from Remus' point of view, but if that's still triggering for you, stop reading at 'Once they were in the centre, Remus turned to Sirius...' and continue reading at 'Turning to look at Sirius, Remus was glad to note that he seemed to have calmed down...' I'll highlight these sentences in bold so you know when to stop/restart and put a little summary in the end notes :)

**_Sirius_ **

“Jamie, I don’t know if I can,” Sirius whined, redoing his parting in the mirror for what must’ve been the thirtieth time by now. 

He focused on his reflection, avoiding the glare of his friend through the phone screen that he had propped up on the sink. James Potter was over a hundred miles away, and still managed to make him squirm.

“Sirius Potter. Did our mother raise you to be a coward?” James said sternly, fixing Sirius with his most piercing stare. 

His glasses slipped down his nose, and the effect was lost.

Sirius burst into laughter, shaking his head, but realised only too late that this had ruined his just-perfected parting, and screeched as he hurried to redo it.

“James, I’m telling you, this could make or break my life here. It seems like the kinda place where everyone knows everyone’s great aunt, so if I make a bad impression on one person, that’s it- I’m out, time to move.” Sirius informed James very seriously, attempting to ignore James’ giggles over the screenshots he’d just taken of Sirius’ burst of panic. 

“I’m sure you’re overreacting, mate. Remus sounded keen enough to invite you to his little party, plus you have connections through Lils. And you already know Alice, Marlene and Dorcas- how many more of them can there be?” James reassured him, and something in Sirius’ stomach twisted a little in happiness as it struck them that James had remembered all of their names from the one garbled conversation they’d had after Sirius got off work.

“Yeah, well let’s just hope there’s not many more.” Sirius huffed, blowing a strand of his hair off his forehead with what appeared to be a totally distracted look, but James could see right through his blasé facade. 

“You’re gunna be fine, alright? It’ll be just a few people, people you’ve already met and been with for a day or two. And if you don’t like it just say you have some work to do for uni that you need to finish- or message me and I’ll call you with some emergency. Lord knows I’ll probably have one.” James said gently, wiggling his eyebrow at Sirius at the end of his little speech. 

Sirius paused in the application of his eyeliner, giving James a soft smile that was rarer than his usual grin. 

“You’re not half bad, you know that Potter?”

James threw back his head and laughed, looking up as Lily entered the room and wound her arms around his waist, resting her chin on his shoulder and smiling at Sirius. 

“Yeah, you’re not a complete wanker either, Potter,” James smirked, blowing Sirius a quick kiss before they said their goodbyes. 

Sirius’ flat felt quite empty and cold all of a sudden without James’ laughter ringing through it, and he hurriedly pulled on his boots as he slipped his keys into the pocket of his favourite leather jacket. 

Before he left, he turned to the mirror by the door, pointing a stern finger at himself that rather reminded him of Minnie. 

“Don’t mess shit up, Sirius,” he whispered, shoving his hands in his pockets and exiting his flat. 

_**Remus** _

Remus hadn’t been able to sleep. He hadn’t been able to eat. He hadn’t been able to think about anything else other than that man and his blasted tattoos. He’d called in sick the previous day and had spent the whole day sketching and blasting Manic Street Preachers, unable to do anything else but wallow in the memory of that brief but blissful encounter, letting it wash over him like waves and flow out of his pen onto the paper. 

On top of that, he’d been dealing with the additional distraction that was the most gorgeous boy in the world having his phone number, and the consequences that came with that. What had started out as an innocent inquiry of directions to Remus’ place had turned into full-blown conversations all day for the past few days, and eventually swapping social media- Lord above, Remus had not been ready for Sirius Potter’s Instagram page. 

However, no amount of scribbling and daydreaming and consistently checking his phone could’ve prepared him for the sight of Sirius on his doorstep, his face poorly lit under Remus’ dying porch light. 

“Alright?” Sirius nodded in greeting, offering out a box of chocolates. “I didn’t… got no wine or anything fancy in my flat, so I brought this,” he admitted sheepishly, tugging at his sleeves and pulling them down over his knuckles.

Remus’ lip quirked a little at the endearing habit, adding it to his mental ever-growing list of things he knew about Sirius. He then suddenly realised that he’d been standing there staring at Sirius, a vision on his doorstep, for the past few minutes, and was probably making the other boy a little concerned.

“No, sorry, those are great. Chocolate’s the way to my heart, so well done.” Remus grinned, stepping back to allow Sirius to enter.

“Want a drink?” Remus looked over his shoulder to ask Sirius while leading him through the hall to the kitchen, a little surprised at Sirius’ shaken head answer.

“No thanks, I don’t drink,” he replied with a tight-lipped smile, his eyes getting a sort of guarded look in them that made Remus regret ever asking. 

“I’ve got like, other stuff too- water, juice, coke, whatever you want really.” Remus offered hurriedly, practically stumbling over his words to correct his grievance. 

“Any of those sound great, honest,” Sirius said with a breathy laugh, squeezing Remus’ shoulder as he slipped around him to lean down and inspect the contents of Remus’ fridge. Remus swallowed hard and averted his eyes, rubbing his flushed neck as he searched the room for someone to introduce Sirius to. He was beginning to get the inexplicable urge to lay out every single aspect of his life and let Sirius inspect it with a microscope, and the notion troubled him deeply.

Suddenly the door flew open, making Sirius jump and bang his head on the fridge door. Somehow enraptured by even the mundanest movements of Sirius’, Remus watched the boy wince and turn around to greet the newcomers with a look of surprise and delight. Remus quickly shook himself out of it, turning to see who had entered, and his stomach plummeted when he recognised the leader of the group at his door.

Nymphadora Tonks, his ex-girlfriend. The girl who’s heart he’d sort-of-accidentally broken, but he was now very tentatively friends with for the sake of his other mates. 

“Sirius?!” Nymphadora screeched, throwing herself into Sirius’ arms and burying her wild pink hair into his chest. Sirius let out a surprised laugh, tightening his arms around her and lifting her off the floor slightly. 

“How come you didn’t tell me you were here? I haven’t heard from you since-” Tonks laughed incredulously, cutting herself off before she could finish her sentence after seeing a warning flash in Sirius’ eyes. 

Remus noted how suddenly uncomfortable Sirius looked and sidled into the conversation, standing just behind Sirius and giving Tonks a tense smile.

“Alright, Dora? You two know each other, then?” he asked a little awkwardly, noting with an odd sense of- jealousy? Maybe he wasn’t over Tonks?- the easy way that Sirius and Tonks coexisted.

“Yeah, we’re cousins.” Tonks grinned, nudging Sirius with her elbow, who threw her an easy smile. 

“Tonks and I basically hid together in the corner at every family function.” Sirius laughed, shaking his head as he sipped from his glass of water and watched Remus over the rim.

Remus’ heartbeat nearly tripled in speed, and he looked away quickly with a blush, running a hand through his hair. 

“So. Cousins,” he said in a slightly breathless tone, thinking it was maybe the universe’s cruellest joke on him so far that his ex-girlfriend and current crush, obsession, _whatever you want to call it,_ were blood-related. Wasn’t that just his luck?

“Small world, isn’t it?” Sirius grinned, glancing between Remus and Tonks. Remus could tell that Sirius sensed just the same as him- that the whole group were just a trio of tension, each of them apparently having some sort of unresolved issue with another. 

“So then how do you two know each other?” Sirius asked overly casually, reddening when Remus raised an eyebrow at him, and choosing to take a sip of his water instead of responding to Remus’ subtle callout of his repeat of Remus’ previous question. 

“Oh, we used to date, ended like a year ago.” Tonks dismissed with a wave of her hand, throwing a cheeky wink at Remus. “This one broke my heart of course, can you imagine him getting dumped?” 

Remus squirmed, hiding his face in his hands. 

“There is a lot more to it than the way Dora just made it sound,” he promised Sirius through his fingers, who simply raised a bemused eyebrow at him. 

“Anyway, I promised Sirius I’d introduce him to some people, so I’ll see you later, alright Dora?” Remus said in a rush, taking Sirius’ wrist and quickly pulling him through the crowd. **Once they were in the centre, Remus turned to Sirius, expecting to share a slightly awkward laugh with him, but instead, Sirius’ face had gone rather pale.**

“Sirius?” Remus asked uncertainly- he’d barely known the man for a day. How was he supposed to recognise his panic attack warning signs- oh god, what if he _was_ having a panic attack? What was he supposed to do then?

Sirius didn’t reply- he was instead staring very hard at the floor, his chest visibly moving as he took rapid breaths, the hand that was not holding Remus’ now balled into a fist. 

“Come on, let’s go outside- I need some fresh air.” Remus offered, taking Sirius by the shoulders and steering him through the crowd and out of the front door to stand again on Remus’ porch. 

**Turning to look at Sirius, Remus was glad to note that he seemed to have calmed down, his face returning to its usually tanned complexion and his breathing slowed.**

“Sorry,” Sirius muttered, screwing his face up and looking away in shame. “Didn’t mean to drag you away from your own party, I just- don’t do very well in crowds, that’s all,” he said, which Remus viewed as a little bit of an understatement.

“Don’t worry about that- they’ll function fine without me,” Remus reassured, relieved when he saw that he had dragged a smile onto the boy’s lips- Sirius was returning to his usual self. “And I was the one who dragged you out into the middle of that crowd, wasn’t I? My bad, I’ll remember that for next time.”

“Next time?” Sirius repeated, a wry smile on his lips as he looked up at Remus.

Remus’ heart malfunctioned for a second, and he inwardly cursed himself for being so forward. 

“If you think you’ve escaped Marlene and Dorcas, you haven’t,” he replied, with a small smile of his own. “But I think, for now, you should go home and rest- I’ll walk you back,” he said, hoping that he hadn’t overstepped and it didn’t feel like he was bossing Sirius around. 

Sirius wrinkled his nose again, shaking his head as he shrugged on his jacket Remus had snatched off the peg on their hurried exit. 

“No, don’t, I’ve caused you enough trouble today already.” 

“Come on- I want an excuse to get out of the party, plus it’s dark, and who knows what other trouble your fragile self might get into on the walk home.” Remus grinned, hoping that Sirius would see it as teasing and not an insult. He was relieved to note that Sirius did, as his back straightened and an indignant laugh escaped his lips as he lightly punched Remus on the shoulder.

“Come on then, my knight in shining armour- walk me home.” he grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all for reading! for those who skipped out the passage of Sirius' panic attack, Sirius had a panic attack over being in the middle of a large crowd, Remus noticed he was uncomfortable and took him outside.  
> also wanted to note that tonks is a year younger than remus and sirius in this fic as to avoid creepiness :)  
> kudos and comments greatly appreciated, I hope you all liked it!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! kudos and comments greatly appreciated :)


End file.
